The present invention relates to absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, disposable diapers, adult incontinent pads, panty liners, underlaying sheets for pets, and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to absorbent articles which have high odor-controlling effects and are resistant to the leakage of bad odors.
Absorbent articles having a deodorizing function are disclosed, e.g., in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 58-138452, 59-105448 and 2-252555. According to these conventional techniques, the deodorizing effect is not manifested as expected because hydrophilic materials such as paper and pulp are present around a deodorizing agent, and the absorbed liquid remains in these hydrophilic materials, enjoying little deodorizing effect.
In addition to the above prior arts, a number of attempts have been made to date to reduce the odor of menstrual blood by incorporating various deodorizing agents or aromatizing agents into the absorbent member, etc. of an absorbent article. The conventional absorbent articles aiming at deodorizing typically include the following three types:                (1) Those containing materials that adsorb and remove various odors, which are designed to perform a deodorizing function in a dry state (a state free of liquid).        (2) Those having a perfume contained in microcapsules, etc., which is released when wet on absorption of blood to exert a masking effect to thereby make the odor imperceptible.        (3) Those having improved breathability as a whole or containing an antimicrobial agent (bactericidal agent) to control growth of bacteria thereby suppressing the development or increase of odors from the metabolite of bacteria.        
The products of type (1) are essentially to be effective for deodorizing but, in actual use, fail to fully enjoy the effect of deodorizing materials in the absence of considerations for the wet state of the products with body fluids, such as menstrual blood, so-called discharge (leukorrhea), and urine. The products of type (2) meet difficulty in making all odors imperceptible by masking. Moreover, the perfume can be released by moisture absorption during storage or can decompose with time causing it to lose its function. The products of type (3) are effective on ammonia that is generated on the decomposition of urine, as is observed with diapers and incontinence pads, but are ineffective on body fluids that give off strong odors immediately after being exuded, such as menstrual blood and other discharge. Further, the problem common to types (1) to (3) is that the products cannot sufficiently reduce all the odors of menstrual blood or discharge because the odors of these body fluids are composed of a variety of components and have high concentrations immediately after discharge.